TheSuper Mariofranchise is not only memorable because of its historic role in the video game industry, but also due to its accessibility. With a few exceptions, the Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants have partaken in almost every recognizable video game genre, and most of these experiments were well-received. The most popular of these spinoffs areMario Kartand the several RPGs based on the series, but the other multiplayer-centric titles, especially the sports games, are a part of Nintendo’s history that’s only getting more love as the earliest spinoffs get older, amplifying nostalgia for them.
The Nintendo Switch marked the day that appealingMariosports games finally made a return.Mario Tennis AcesandMario Golf: Super Rush, as well asMario Strikers Battle League, seem to bring back the personality of the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii games. However, these games all share a glaring issue. All three of them, includingMario Strikers, are part of Nintendo’s periodic free updates strategy, much to the dismay of several fans that were hoping for a more old school gaming experience. For the sake of keeping theMarioseries and its spinoffs fresh, this practice needs to end.
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The Mario Sports Games: Then and Now
Sports have been part of theMariofranchise since the NES era. Games with simple titles likeGolfshowed that Nintendo’s most famous characters could branch out of their traditional platformer fare. However, the idea of regularMariospinoffs would not be fully established until the fifth generation of consoles. The release ofMario Kart 64andPaper Marioprovedthat their Super Nintendo predecessors,Super Mario KartandSuper Mario RPG, were not lone wolves.
The Nintendo 64saw the introduction of the long-runningMario Partysubseries, and more importantly, the proper introduction to golf and tennis in theMariouniverse with the appropriately titledMario GolfandMario Tennis. While there were other sports-themed games featuringMariocharacters in the past, these Nintendo 64 games established a permanent athletic presence in the Mushroom Kingdom.
The GameCube continued the golf and tennis games and introducedMarioto other sports suchas baseball withMario Superstar Baseballand soccer withSuper Mario Strikers. The aforementioned games would get Wii sequels, but aside from a Power Tennis port,Mario GolfandMario Tenniswere dormant until the 3DS and Wii U came out. For most of the 2010s,Mariowas in an awkward spot, but spinoffs like the sports games suffered the most.
The memorable, stylish, and colorful games from the past three consoles seemed to have disappeared. The different subseries, if they even continued, were either stuck with mediocre games or relegated to the handheld crowd, depriving non-3DS owners of a potentially fun time. Instead of making new games that focus on one sportlike a possibleMarioHockey, or maybe a sequel toMario Hoops 3-on-3, the sports games mostly became minigame compilations with extremely similar rosters of playable characters.
Mario Tennis Aces, while flawed, changed this. It brought new life to the Mario sports games, especially regarding the character roster, which introduced plenty of newcomers and brought back old favorites,like Petey Piranha. However, instead of focusing on unlockable characters and stages alongside special modes, these new sports introduce features through monthly free updates. This leaves the impression that the games are incomplete upon being released, and when they feel like polished works, people move on to greener pastures.Mario Strikers: Battle Leaguewill likely go through the same cycle.
TheMariosports gameshave a strong identity, and the genre’s usual progression mechanics are familiar to all longtime fans. Unlockable content, a roster that represents the bigMariostars alongside the miscellaneous Mushroom Kingdom denizens, colorfulMario-themed stages, and stylish takes on real life games made the older games thrive by all being available at launch. If Nintendo does not want this revival of theMariosports games to be brief, then it should stop building these games around regular updates and focus on launching fleshed-out games.
